Title

Author

Award Date

12-2010

Degree Type

Professional Paper

Degree Name

Master of Science in Hotel Administration

Department

Hotel Administration

First Committee Member

Bo Bernhard, Chair

Number of Pages

35

Abstract

When The Mirage opened in 1989, it was the most expensive hotel-casino in history with a construction cost of $630 million. Along with eruption of its signature attraction, The Volcano, this high profile project started a tourism boom and started a trend of further developments of integrated mega-resorts. The Mirage set a new level of experience for Las Vegas strip. However, the global financial crisis that started in 2007 has since left Las Vegas with the highest foreclosure rate in the country and sent accompanying businesses and growth tumbling (Veiga, 2010). Gaming industry has long been thought to be recession proof. But with disposable income for households still on the lows and still hesitant to put their money at risk, Las Vegas has been struggling to attract consumers willing to put their luck to test. Most of the future developments on the strip have been halted indefinitely and business revenue have dropped significantly. Recent statistics show that Las Vegas gaming revenue fell 4.9% in July, state’s fifth straight monthly decline (Cherab, 2010). While Las Vegas has been struggling to shake off the effects of the global recession, on the other side of the globe, Macao has staged a dramatic rebound: their gaming revenue surged 40% in August from a year before fueled by aggressive casino revenue growth (O’Keeffe, 2010b). Casino operators in Macao have been able to continuously improve gaming revenue by meeting the demands from high-stakes gamblers or VIPs.